This month, we give a summary of information for arrivals in the UK and US. Next month, we cover Asia and Australia. All we can do is scratch the surface, but our panellists are here to follow up on any point at any time on careers@mrweb.com

Finding permanent work in the UK has become more difficult in the last few years: 'a minefield with endless delays,' according to Debby Robson of MR recruiters SLS Services. 'Increasingly, clients are not interested in people on working holiday visas, except for defined-length contracts, and sponsorship is often too much hassle for overstretched HR teams.' Agencies are no longer prepared to spend time and money training people who will not be there long, and the law dictates that candidates on such visas should not follow 'career-enhancing' jobs.

CSA Recruitment's Clive Warren confirms that getting visas is a time-consuming and expensive process: 'I can count on the fingers of one hand those clients who have gone to the time and expense of sponsoring a candidate.' Visa options for working in the UK are detailed in the box below.

Ironically, the system is getting tighter and more complicated at a time when the squeeze on talent is tougher than ever, and research employers would probably find the inflow of a bit of overseas experience useful. However, there are still several options for those determined enough, and the best one to take depends on where you're coming from.

For anyone without serious MR experience, things are going to be nigh on impossible. For people with a good few years in a recognised international agency or client company, our experts recommend the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). PSD's Emily Stamp explains: 'HSMP is an option whether you have employment lined up or not. Applicants are judged against certain criteria, which carry a number of points. The process requires you to employ a solicitor and costs around £1,500 but, once you have the visa, you're free to move between employers with no further costs for you or the company.' The good news is that MR is currently considered appropriate for the scheme. According to Clive Warren, the UK authorities 'look favourably on researchers from overseas from an HSMP point of view.'

Without a visa, things can be hard. Warren continues: 'Coming from Asia to work in the UK can be easy if you have working rights in the UK, can speak and write perfect English, possess excellent research skills, and have an understanding of UK markets, or overseas markets from the UK perspective. Just having good research skills isn't enough.' One obstacle is candidates' expectations of maintaining their current status and salary, which Warren says is not usually possible unless you have impeccable knowledge of UK business life and trends and a rapport with UK clients. Be flexible, he advises.

Perceptions will be different depending on where in Asia you have been working: candidates from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, for example, may get a good reception as, in Warren's words, they 'tend to have conducted highly commercial research all over Asia and the commercial lingua-franca is often English'. By contrast, he adds, 'we have found the standard of research and its commercial application in, say, India to be very high, but the reaction from clients tends to be less favourable.'

Companies looking to expand their business in Asia from a UK base might, of course, make some of the best hunting grounds for would-be immigrants.

Once a common source of talent for UK research agencies, this has dried up somewhat in the last couple of years.

Debby Robson says: 'Usually we advise anyone from Australia, NZ, Canada or South Africa to get an ancestry visa if possible because that way they can usually get a permanent job. Even so, they have to give a good case about intentions to stay.'

Contract work is a different matter, providing you have some kind of visa (see 'UK Visas', p9) According to Lara Fisher-Jones of StopGap: 'If you have between one and eight years' market research experience then you should find it relatively easy to find temporary or contract work on arrival in the UK. The freelance market has been active for at least the last couple of years, with agencies and clientside organisations constantly on the hunt for good project managers. You could find a job as quickly as within a couple of days, but make sure you have funds to tide you over as it might take four to six weeks. Opportunities come up less frequently at the more senior end of the scale.'

American researchers sometimes assume it will be easy to get work elsewhere in the world. In fact, those seeking work in the UK often end up relying on company sponsorship to get them. The large number of Anglo-American partnerships in the MR industry, and of US companies running European offices in London, make this a particularly likely option for a transatlantic hop, but the method is also open to entrants from round the world.

As with the UK, entry has become more challenging in the past few years, and it was never simple. The most common visa for researchers is the H-1B visa, which the immigration authorities describe as 'enabling professionals in 'specialty occupations' to make a valuable contribution to the American economy.' Researchers, of course, are special enough. The visa, available to 'college-educated professionals', is issued for up to three years. It may be extended up to a maximum of six and the holder can apply for a Green Card (for permanent residency) if a company wants to sponsor his or her application.

However, there are not many of them - a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas are issued every year and, given the number of people headed for the Land of Opportunity that's going to disappoint quite a lot, says ENI's Liz Norman. 'It is almost impossible for companies to get the visas necessary to employ foreign applicants,' due to the few available visas being snapped up on the day of issue (1st of October).

She adds, however, that the strong need for researchers with international experience means that ways have been found round the problem. 'Most foreign researchers find work in the States as the result of an internal transfer.' For the L-1 Intracompany Transfer Work Visa, there are no quota restrictions. According to Immigration Support, 'Individuals who are employed outside the United States as executives, managers or in a position which requires specialized knowledge may qualify for a L-1 intracompany transfer work visa'. Those already in the country on shorter working arrangements can sometimes change status to an L-1. Indeed, starting off in the US may give candidates an advantage. 'Some companies will consider candidates who require sponsorship,' says Karen Morgan of US-based Morgan Search, but US companies are less likely to respond to a candidate who's currently overseas. 'The best way to get access to US companies is to either move here (!) and interview once you're here or plan a long visit and network while you're here.'

Failing this, at least look for companies who have taken overseas candidates before: your chances of persuading a company new to the idea that it's worth getting involved, are much lower. 'Companies need to feel confident that, if they are going to invest this kind of time and money, your intention is to remain with the organization for a while,' says Karen Morgan. Offering to pay for the visa yourself gets round part of the problem.

On the plus side, Morgan says there is currently a shortage of researchers with strong analytical/stats skills so such candidates have a better chance of getting sponsored.

Details of the various entry methods are available at the official www.usimmigrationsupport.org. And, despite its name, www.h1base.com offers information and advice on all kinds of visas and entry methods, not just the H1B.

See also Coming to Australia and Asia